The Benefits of Practicing Yoga with Your Child
Practicing yoga has countless benefits for your child. Yoga can help develop the physical body by increasing strength, balance, and coordination, while also benefiting your child’s mental well being by supporting emotional regulation and boosting their self-esteem. One of the best things about yoga is how accessible it can be! There are tons of free classes and resources online, and with just five minutes of yoga per day you could start to see some benefits.
1. Practicing yoga sets aside time for deep breathing. Taking deep breaths helps to regulate your body by slowing your heart rate and lowering your blood pressure. Deep breaths will turn off your child’s “flight or fight” response. Children who are sensitive to their surroundings and appear overwhelmed or anxious might be experiencing higher levels of stress than their peers. Activities to turn off their “fight or flight” response will help to lower the stress your child is experiencing.
2. Yoga can be a great activity for increasing your child’s overall strength. Core strength is one area that is frequently targeted by practicing yoga. Low core strength in children will result in poor postural stability which affects a lot of gross and fine motor skills.
3. Balancing incorporates a lot of different skills such as postural stability, motor planning, righting reactions, and body awareness. Poor balance can inhibit your child’s ability to engage in certain leisure activities and can also lead to more falls. Practicing yoga challenges your child’s balance in a safe low stakes environment to improve their balancing skills.
4. Practicing yoga regularly may increase your child’s emotional regulation skills. Yoga allows your child to truly slow down their mind and body which can help them recognize the feelings they are having and why they are having them. This is a great time to step in as a parent and help your child recognize and identify the feelings that they experience.
5. Yoga will boost your child’s self esteem! Having meaningful activities included in your child’s daily routine is great for their self esteem. Practicing yoga invites your child into a community of people who are enjoying the same activity and will leave your child feeling stronger and in control of their body and emotions.
Here is the link to a great childrens yoga youtube channel! Start off with just a few minutes at a time and increase from there!
https://www.youtube.com/c/CosmicKidsYoga/videos
Written by Kristen Stanley OTS, CYT